


Warm Glow

by theguineapig3



Category: Tales of Symphonia
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:20:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21527404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theguineapig3/pseuds/theguineapig3
Summary: A series of oneshots about Kratos and Anna. The life they lead is difficult and they don't always see eye to eye, but sometimes it's their differences that bring them closer together.
Relationships: Anna/Kratos Aurion
Kudos: 5





	1. Cold Feet

**“Cold Feet”**

Words: 2171  
Genre: fluff

( _This piece was written a few years ago for a friend who said that mentioning socks and shoes couldn't be "sexy." I begged to differ._ )

* * *

“I _never_ want to see another drop of water again in my _entire life_.”

“I… I understand what you’re trying to say and I agree with you, but that’s not really a feasible request when you think about-”

“My _entire life_.” Anna grabbed Kratos’ arm and dragged him along with her, making a beeline for the tiny cabin that had finally appeared through the trees ahead of them. Thankfully it was on high ground, saved from the flooding that had overtaken most of the forest during the past week. The tropical cyclone that was passing over the area had flooded the two out of most of their hiding places, recently, and they had to turn to a place that was a little less secret and a little more dry.

The inside of the cabin was cold and damp, but it was at least a chance to get out of the rain and the wind. Anna entered through the door and immediately began to shed her wet clothing, tossing her coats and scarf onto the floor. 

“Hey, hey, hey! Wait a minute until we can get a fire going. The room is small, so it’ll get warm quickly.“

"I see.” Anna nodded. “So I should just stand here in my wet clothes while you fumble forever with damp matches?”

Kratos stiffened. He’d thought that she hadn’t noticed that he was having a hard time with his numb hands.

“Just be patient-”

“Do you know how many hours my socks have been soaked through? I can’t feel my feet. They’re numb from lack of blood circulation. That’s the first step in necrosis. If we have to amputate my feet because of this, then I-”

“ _Standing there and complaining will not get the fire started any faster, you know_.”

He had a point, as usual. Anna realized that she was just venting, and decided instead to put her fervor to good use. Setting her bag down on the floor, she pulled a small object out and then approached the furnace where Kratos was still struggling with the matchbox.

“Try this.” Anna leaned over him and struck the flint starter. A large spark settled into the tinder, and with a few breaths from Kratos it began to flare up into a fire. He waited until he was sure that the fire had taken hold, and then closed the door to the furnace and stood up. Anna, in the meantime, had a self-satisfied grin on her face.

A muttered “ _Show off._..” was his only response to her.

Anna went back to peeling off wet layers of clothing, beginning to set her discarded items along a thin metal bar near the furnace that they used for drying clothing inside. When in hiding, it was foolish to place your clothes outside to dry, lest they attract unwanted attention. Kratos had once joked that Cruxis would probably be able to see Anna’s favorite orange polka-dot underwear from a mile away. She hadn’t responded directly beyond an indignant huff, but the next time it was her turn to cook dinner, Kratos found himself with a plate full of fried green tomatoes.

“Anna, you’re still wearing your shoes? What was all that about your feet being amputated?” Kratos had gone out the back door and reappeared with a shallow basin of water that he set on top of the furnace to warm. “I thought I’d heat some warm water to help.”

“Oh, r-right.” She’d all but forgotten about her feet while placing the clothing to dry, and the sight of Kratos with all his clothes but his denim trousers and tall boots tossed aside didn’t help to jog her memory. “Give me a moment.”

“That’s okay. It won’t take the water long to get warm. When dealing with this sort of thing, it should be lukewarm, not hot. Do you- AH! YOUR HANDS ARE COLD!”

Anna had pressed the palms of her hands against the skin of Kratos’ back, and he nearly jumped. She didn’t move, unable to help a smile.

“You’re warm,” she murmured.

“That’s because hands are extremities which are first to lose blood circulation in favor of important organs. If you touched my hands, they’d probably feel cold.”

Anna giggled. “Wow. Warm _and_ smart. I’m definitely not letting you go.”

“I hope you mean that figuratively. Please move your hands.”

“…fine.” Anna slid her hands down his back, bringing them to rest against his hips, feeling him immediately tense up as she did so. It was probably just because of the temperature of her hands, but she was still surprised to get a reaction out of him so quickly. That was a new record.

“ _Th-that’s not what I meant_!” Kratos turned around, breaking contact between himself and Anna. He pointed across the room to one of the chairs. “Go sit down and take your shoes off. The water’s almost ready.”

Anna nodded obediently and walked over to sit down. He had been right that there was little time to wait until the water had been heated to his satisfaction. As he approached her with the basin, he looked down at her feet.

“Is there a reason you haven’t taken off your shoes?”

“I want you to do it.” Anna glanced away as she spoke. “I don’t want to look. They’re probably blue.”

“I highly doubt that,” Kratos sighed as he knelt down and placed the basin in front of where Anna was sitting, “but I’ll take a look. Let me see.”

Anna’s shoes were easy to unbuckle, but getting them off when the soles were stuck to her wet socks were another matter. He carefully pulled her shoes off first, setting them aside closer to the furnace, and then turned to her socks. There wasn’t much to do aside from turning them inside-out as he peeled them off, though he did try to wring them out as best he could before turning his attention to Anna’s feet. He gently placed them into the warm water, looking up to see her reaction. She was still looking away, though she appeared noticeably less tense.

“You can look now.”

“Are they blue? They’re blue, aren’t they?” Anna didn’t turn her head, instead looking for some warning first as to what she’d see.

“They’re not blue. A little pale, but not blue.”

With a sigh of relief, she turned her head back around and dipped her feet in the water. It wasn’t hot, but was warm enough that it started to melt through the numbness that had held her feet captive since she’d stepped in the first puddle early that morning. Anna would have been content to simply let her feet soak for a while, but after a minute or two, she felt Kratos’ hands on her right foot, rubbing gently as though he were trying to help her warm up.

“Oh, hey, you don’t have to-”

“I’m trying to help increase circulation. Even if there’s no sign of cyanosis, it’s not good for your skin to be exposed to cold water for so long. Water draws heat away from the body twenty-five times faster than air does.” He moved his hands to her left foot, gently squeezing with a wringing motion from her heel to her toes. “Besides that, it’s my fault we’re in this mess. I heard that this storm was going to pass through, but I underestimated its strength. I though we’d be fine in the old church basement, but… now it’s flooded and your books are ruined. All because of me- OW!”

Anna had reached out and hit Kratos on the top of his head. 

“Quit blaming yourself, will you? You can’t control the weather. And, besides, it’s not like those books were anything precious. We could pick up new copies at any used book store around.”

“But I was the one who made the decision to stay, against your better judgement-”

“So? Who cares if you’re the one who made the decision? I’m the one who went along with it in the end. If I’d been determined to evacuate before the storm, nothing you’d have said would’ve stopped me.”

“That’s, uh, not exactly comforting.” Kratos frowned and turned his attention back to her foot, pressing deeply with his thumb to trace down the arch of her foot from her heel to her toes. “But I’m sure we can learn from this. We’ll have to get you some good, waterproof boots like I have. This is the first storm of the season, so it’s likely that we’ll have similar-”

He continued talking, but Anna was only half-listening. She had closed her eyes and was focusing on just the feeling of his hands as he slowly worked the tension out of her muscles. One thing that constantly surprised her was how gentle and affectionate his grip could be, even with his rough, calloused hands with their many centuries of wear. Before they’d become close, she had never gotten to see his hands past his gloves, knowing only the brute strength contained in them and the damage they could wreak with a sword and a spell. But what she’d later found was that those hands were capable of the softest, most loving gestures she’d ever experienced. Perhaps it was the years of being locked away that had made her crave the tender touch of another human, but at times like this she was always caught between the desire for more and the urge to reciprocate, to show him just how wonderful it was to feel pure love from the sensation of someone’s hands on your skin. 

“Kratos,” she spoke finally.

“Hm?”

“Your shoes are untied.”

His hand motions stopped momentarily as he glanced at his boots. The laces were, in fact, in a state of disarray, but he hadn’t taken notice of them until now. It wasn’t all that important to him anyway.

“So they are,” he replied, turning his attention back to Anna. She wasn’t ready to give up the conversation so quickly, however.

“Let me help.” Anna reached out for his boots, though Kratos shrank back. 

“What are you doing? I can tie them myself. I have four-thousand years of experience, thanks.”

“Just let me help.”

“ _Fine_.”

Anna stood up from the chair, stepping to the side so that she could sit next to Kratos on the floor for easier access to his boots. She started with his right foot, but instead of lacing them up and re-tying them, she tugged at the laces until they were loose enough that she could pull the boot off of his foot.

“Hey! What are you doing? My feet aren’t wet, remember?”

“That doesn’t matter.” Anna shook her head as she moved to his left foot. “You’re spoiling me. It’s not fair that I’m the only one who gets a massage, is it?”

“That’s not…” Kratos tried to argue, but he never put up a fight physically, and his verbal reluctance finally trailed off as well as he allowed Anna to set aside his boots and socks. She traced along the top of his right foot, gently at first, and then with an increased pressure, pressing between the bones as she worked her way from his toes up to circle around his ankle. He immediately felt himself relax and fought the urge to lie back on the floor as the tension in his muscles melted away. Her fingers were so small and yet had such strength behind them. It wasn’t just the exsphere she wore- there was an inner strength to her touch that came from her own personal resolve. She believed wholeheartedly in her convictions, and when he felt her hands against his skin, he could tell that she believed in _him_. Even after being with Anna, he wasn’t used to someone being so affectionate with him. It felt so foreign and yet part of him wished for it to last as long as possible…

Each time that Anna moved her hands back up to his ankle, she’d strayed a little bit farther, and finally, she simply failed to stop at his ankle at all, her hand trailing up his leg to his thigh. “ _Anna!”_ He sat upright suddenly, shifting backwards a little. So much for relaxation. 

“Sorry. I got a little carried away.” She pulled her hands back and apologized, but the smile on her face indicated that she knew exactly what she was doing.

Kratos stared at her for a moment, weighing his options, until he finally sighed and stood up. “I’ll get some towels from the closet. You put the rest of your clothes up to dry and then I’ll do the same, alright?”

“Yes!”

Within an hour or so, all of their wet clothing had dried off thanks to the heat of the furnace. However, they didn’t care much about it for the moment. The two of them were huddled comfortably next to one another against a pile of pillows and covered in blankets. There were no more cold hands or feet in that house anymore.


	2. Family Planning

“Family Planning”

Written for Tales Whump Week 2018

Words: 3708  
Genre: hurt/comfort 

_Anna Irving was the kind of person who wasn’t afraid of anything. Kratos had known her for years before the first time he ever saw true, unbridled fear in her eyes. He’d always imagined that moment with him stepping in to defend her from whatever had scared her… so he hadn’t considered that_ he _would be the one she was afraid of._

* * *

Anna has been especially secretive for a few weeks now.

Kratos wasn’t worried at first- after all, this wasn’t the first time she had been like this. A few years back, she had planned for months to throw him a surprise birthday party, doing her best to keep her plans under wraps. He had figured it out, of course, but was happy to play along. Their unpredictable life, constantly moving from place to place to keep Cruxis off their trail, was stressful and Anna deserved to have her fun when she could. Besides that, Kratos respected her privacy. When she requested time alone, he always allowed it unless there was a reason to suspect her life might be in danger. Many times when visiting cities for supplies, they split up to avoid drawing attention to themselves. If Anna suggested they keep a low profile by separating for a few hours or even days, Kratos usually trusted her intuition. She knew well the dangers they faced and Kratos was grateful for the keen senses she’d developed while living in the human ranch. He hadn’t been given a reason to distrust her.

At least, not until now.

Her attitude and stamina seemed to be deteriorating, and the number of times she refused dinner was starting to get suspicious. At night she tossed and turned to the point that he started to lose sleep as well, and his questions about her wellbeing were met with the same chipper “ _I’m fine!_ ” every time. Noishe had started trailing especially close to her, whining pitifully whenever she left his side. Kratos began to worry, and while he forced himself to give her the space she wanted, eventually she went on a walk with Noishe after lunch one day and only Noishe returned.

Kratos followed a panicked Noishe over Anna’s usual walking route and managed to find her beside a large oak tree, doubled over and half-conscious. He carried her back to their current hideout and put her in bed, looking her over to see what was wrong. She wasn’t feverish, but she was dehydrated, so his first reaction was to give her water. Anna was conscious enough to sit up and drink, but even slow sips of water seemed to exacerbate her nausea. Kratos had seen severe gastrointestinal illnesses product similar symptoms, but he wasn’t totally sure what to do.

“How long has this been going on?” he asked as he refilled the glass of water. “When was the last time you were able to keep something down?”

Anna was making a point not to look at him. “It comes and goes,” she answered. “I’ll be fine. I just need some rest.”

“Without food to give you energy, resting will only do so much. And if you stay dehydrated like this, you’re only going to get worse.”

Anna frowned, glanced over at the glass of water, and looked back at Kratos.

“Can you get me some juice? I still have a bad taste in my mouth from earlier, so the water isn’t exactly helping. And maybe a biscuit too- one of those really bland ones.”

Satisfied that Noishe was watching over her, Kratos moved to the cupboard and fished through their supplies for the hardtack they kept on hand in case of emergencies. She hadn’t specified what kind of juice, so he chose an orange from the bag of supplies he’d brought in from Palmacosta the day before, hoping the extra vitamins would help her fight whatever infection was.

But, come to think of it… she’d been acting strange for a long time now. Had she been this ill the whole time? Is that why Noishe was being so attentive? If Anna was having trouble keeping food down, it was no wonder she was losing energy. Why hadn’t she told him? She never hid when she was feeling sick. The sooner they identified what was wrong, the sooner they could treat it, and they had come to an unspoken understanding that their pride was not as important as their safety in situations like these. The only explanation he could think of was that she was suffering from something that wasn’t curable. But that was absurd- she might be uncomfortable and potentially putting herself in danger from outside sources, but she wasn’t _dying_.

Maybe, then, it was just the opposite.

Kratos’ hand slipped on the reamer, and orange juice and seeds sloshed out onto the counter. He grabbed a rag to clean it up, but his mind was elsewhere. He was trying to reason with himself, trying to rule out his sudden, absurd hypothesis. She would’ve told him about something like that, he was sure of it! He was mostly sure of it. Okay, he wanted to be sure of it. But the thought wouldn’t leave his mind. It also didn’t help that when he stopped to review their recent, erm, _activities_ , he realized how little care they’d taken to prevent something like this. It had only been a matter of time before an… _accident_ happened.

Trying to dispel thoughts he hadn’t yet confirmed, Kratos thought back to the medicine he’d been considering. Herbal tea was something they kept on hand for such occasions as a good cure-all for sinus, throat, and stomach problems. It would help with her nausea, and he was pretty sure it was safe for- _oh, here we go again._

At this point, he might as well be blunt and ask. If it wasn’t the case, the worst he might get was a slap and a scolding for being rude. But if it was, then they could discuss it. He could find out why she’d been keeping it from him and what she planned to do. Kratos set a kettle of water on the hearth for tea and poured the juice into a cup to take back to Anna. She was sitting up by this point, and hungrily accepted the biscuits and juice despite Kratos’ warnings to eat and drink slowly. He sighed as he watched her and finally steeled himself to speak.

“Anna, may I ask a particularly stupid question?”

She looked up from her half-eaten biscuit and swallowed. “Isn’t that usually my job?”

Her sense of humor was coming back. That was a good sign at least.

“Your job right now is resting and feeling better. I was trying to come up with a diagnosis just with the symptoms I’ve seen, but I…” He cut off his sentence, not wanting to talk in circles any longer. “Anna, are you pregnant?”

He saw her freeze with the cup of juice still pressed to her lips. Noishe let out a punctuated whine, sending her unease. Anna swallowed the rest of the juice and gently handed the cup back to him.

“I'm… feeling tired. I should get some sleep.”

“It’s two o’clock in the afternoon, Anna. I just need an answer-”

“Didn’t you just say that my job right now is to rest? I have work to do.”

She didn’t give him a chance to protest, diving back against her pillow and pulling the blankets over her head. Kratos sighed and pulled himself to his feet, trying to come to terms with the situation.

He knew Anna well enough to know that he’d just received a clear “yes.”

Noishe had curled up next to her on the bed, so Kratos went back to the cupboard and looked over the teas they had on-hand. What was good for nausea again? Ginger? Mint? He pulled each container out and looked them over, but he couldn’t force himself to think too hard about them. Not when he had so much weighing on his mind. More than anything, he didn’t want her suffering like this. He wanted to make her feel better, had to make her feel better. Maybe he could blend them together? If one of the teas was good on its own, then TWO of them together would be even-

_Look at me. I’m so flustered, I’m starting to use Anna’s messed-up logic._

Still, he put a little of both in the infuser. Might as well give it a try, at least.

He left the tea to brew and passed the time watching Anna and Noishe curled up in the bed next to one another. It was obvious that she wasn’t asleep; beneath the blankets he could see her giving Noishe a good scratch- just below his right ear, if that familiar twitch of his leg was any indication. It wasn’t an uncommon scene; Noishe seemed to love Anna even more than Kratos did, and Anna returned the sentiment. For the first time, Kratos imagined a third member of the group curled up in the middle, a tiny child wrapped up in Anna’s arms and resting against Noishe’s soft fur. What would the child be like? Would it inherit Anna’s beautiful brown eyes and dark hair? Her inner strength and optimism? Her boundless enthusiasm for the world she lived in and the people she loved…?

His heart raced from the vivid images, and he had to stop himself before he got too involved. That was a dangerous road to go down, given that Anna was still trying to hide the situation from him. He hadn’t worked out why yet, but he had some ideas. It wasn’t that she was afraid he’d leave her- no, Anna wasn’t the sharpest, but she wasn’t _that_ stupid either. And she couldn’t hide it forever, given that it would become visibly obvious within a few months. But if she hadn’t told him by now, perhaps she never planned to. Maybe she was searching for someone who could safely terminate the pregnancy and hoped that she could spare her husband the pain and worry by leaving him none the wiser. If that was the case, he needed to support her rather than get too attached to those fantasies.

Another thought occurred to him along those lines- was she afraid he’d try to stop her? It was her body, her decision, and with the Desians still pouring resources into the search for the Angelus exsphere, avoiding the physical toll of a pregnancy and the work involved in childcare might be the best course of action for her own safety. But Kratos couldn’t be sure what she was thinking, and what she thought he was thinking was an even greater mystery.

After all that thinking about thinking, he finally realised that the tea had been steeping for at least twenty minutes. He stumbled awkwardly over to the teapot and poured a cup for her. It was strong, but perhaps that was a good thing. All he wanted was for it to help.

“Anna, I know you’re not asleep. Sit up; I made you some tea.”

She poked her head out from under the blankets and frowned, but sat up anyway. “I’m feeling a lot better. Maybe having something in my stomach helped after all. I don’t need any tea-”

“You only had one glass of juice, so I’m sure you’re still dehydrated. Just try to drink the tea, will you?”

Anna’s stuck out her bottom lip in a pout, and once Kratos handed her the cup, she made a show of analyzing the scent.

“What is this?”

“It’s, er, my own personal blend…” Kratos looked away, suddenly embarrassed that he’d thrown it together so haphazardly. “Just try it. It should make things better.”

Anna’s frown grew stern and she handed the cup back to Kratos. “I’m not going to drink this.”

“Please, Anna, don’t be so stubborn. If it would help, I could put some honey in it-”

“NO, I’M NOT GOING TO!”

She shoved the cup back at him, not even thinking about the temperature of its contents. It spilled across his arm and chest, and he let out a scream of pain that sent Noishe scrambling to his feet. Anna gasped and reached for him, her voice cracking with a pitiful “ _oh no, no, no, I’m so sorry, I-_ ” but Kratos had already gotten up to retrieve the shards of the broken cup that now littered the floor. He picked up as many as he could and took them across the room to the kitchen area, and as he did so, he heard Anna get up from bed.

“Hey, don’t go anywhere. There are still some sharp pieces on the flo- _hey_! Anna!”

She was already at the door by the time he turned around, and he could hear her sobbing as she ran out into the mid-afternoon sun. Noishe followed, and Kratos shoved the cup shards aside to run after them. The burns on his arm and torso were minor, and could easily be soothed with some aloe later. His concern now was figuring out just what had made Anna so upset- and what he could do to avoid upsetting her like this again.

“…Anna?” Kratos walked around the side of the structure, an old abandoned bunker built into one of the hillsides north of Palmacosta. It was a great place to hide: cool, comfortable, and invisible from any of the main roads, while still maintaining the semblance of a home. Anna loved it and tried not to loiter around the outside for fear that tipping off any passersby of their location would mean they’d have to abandon the bunker altogether. It took Kratos a few minutes to figure out where she had gone, but he eventually was able to follow the sound of her crying to a large tree near the riverbank. Noishe was pacing around the outside, and Anna was curled up inside a hollow in the trunk. As soon as Noishe saw Kratos approaching, he ran around behind him and pushed him closer.

“Y-yes, Noishe, I see her. I’m going, I’m going, don’t push-”

Kratos’ reassurances were cut off as he tripped over an exposed tree root and fell over, grabbing onto the tree trunk for support. He was leaning over Anna, and saw her eyes widen at the sight of him.

He’d never seen her eyes like that before. They were full of sheer terror, the likes of which she had never shown even in the face of Desian experiments and torture. It made her look so small, so young, so vulnerable, Kratos’ wanted nothing more than to step in and protect her from whatever it was that was causing her such fear. Unfortunately, he realized… it was him.

“ _Get away from me!_ ” Anna yelled, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. “ _Don’t touch me!_ ”

“I’m not… I won’t…” Kratos stepped back and fell to his knees, holding up his hands to show that he had no intention of reaching towards her. “Whatever I’ve done to scare you, I’m so sorry. Please tell me so I can make it right. I don’t want to hurt you- I just want to make things better.”

His posture and words seemed to reassure her, and she relaxed a little. “I…” she stammered through sobs. “…I don’t want to ‘ _make it better_.”

“What do you mean? You really want to keep feeling so awful?”

“Yes! I do!”

“Why?”

There was a pause. Anna removed one arm from around her waist in order to wipe away the tears that were flowing faster now. “B-because I… I want to do whatever I can to… protect my baby…”

There. It was the first time she’d confirmed it outright. Somehow, even though he had been certain of it before, this brought Kratos to another level of anxiety.

“Anna, you-”

“Please!” she exclaimed, interrupting him. Her head was bowed so he could no longer see her eyes, but there was still a twinge of fear in her voice. “Please, Kratos, I’ll be good! I’ll stop being so reckless, I’ll stop getting into fights and putting myself in danger, I’ll get better rest and eat right and all the things you tell me to do, just… please, _please_ , let me keep him.”

Kratos froze. “I don’t understand-”

“I’ll study and learn everything I can about being a good mother! I’ll read all the books I need to, even if they’re the hard kind with no pictures! I’ll do whatever I can to keep you from worrying- just let me keep him!”

“Anna, you…” Kratos stammered a reply through his shock. “…you sound like a little girl begging for a puppy. This isn’t at all like bringing home a stray dog.”

“I know! I know it isn’t! But I still-”

“This is not some stray animal. This is _your child_. That’s why I’d never force you to give it up or to make a decision you were unhappy with. Have a little more faith in me, would you?”

Her face shot up to look at him, and he saw the fear in her eyes replaced by a look of shock. “You…”

“You thought I put something in the tea. That’s why you were so scared.” For the first time in countless centuries, Kratos actually had to choke back tears. “How could you think I was capable of doing something like that to you? To _anyone_?”

“I… I just…”

“No, I shouldn’t have said it like that. With the things I’ve done in the past, I shouldn’t be offended by those sorts of assumptions.”

“It’s not like that!” Anna crawled out from her hollow and threw her arms around him. He let out a pained gasp as she touched his chest where he’d been burned, and she pulled back. “I’m so sorry. I panicked, that’s all. But I didn’t think you’d hurt me- not _really_. I just…”

Kratos pulled Anna so that she was sitting in his lap, allowing her to put her arms around his shoulders and lean against the good side of his chest. It felt good to have her close again, to know she was still comfortable being close to him. The idea that he would poison her, poison their child, had hit him too hard, and he didn’t want to be too forward with her until he was sure she was no longer afraid of him.

“…remember about a year ago, when we rescued that little girl from the Desians?” Anna asked as she spoke up again. “I suggested we adopt her more out of guilt that we couldn’t save her parents than anything else, but you shut down the idea so fast that I didn’t have time to even consider if I really wanted it. I know you were right, that she’d be better off with that family in Izoold, but even so, what you said stuck with me. You said that it wouldn’t be right to subject a child to the kind of life we lead, that the dangers we faced on a regular basis were not situations that a child should ever be in. So, a few weeks ago, when I found out I was… oh, _gods_ , Kratos, I was _terrified_. I was sure you’d convince me not to go through with it.”

“That’s why you tried to keep it a secret?” Kratos asked, placing a comforting hand against the back of her head. “No matter how sick you were feeling?”

“Like I said, it comes and goes…” Anna leaned into his touch and closed her eyes. “I thought that, if I could keep it a secret long enough, then I could tell you when I was far enough along that you’d have to let me keep it.”

“I see. That’s what you were thinking.” It was a flawed plan in more ways than one, but Kratos wasn’t in the mood to criticize her. He should be reassuring her. “You weren’t completely wrong; I did consider whether or not this was a good idea. But it’s not up to me. You’re the one who has to decide what’s best for you, and it’s my job to support you through that. And if you decide you want to be parents-” He paused, the word suddenly feeling heavy now that he’d said it out loud. “-then it’s also my job to be the best father I can be. It may be asking a lot, but I want you to trust me.”

Anna leaned against the side of his chest, her voice betraying the tears in her eyes. “I never didn’t trust you. I knew you would only do what you thought was best for me. I should’ve had more faith that my feelings would matter to you as much as my safety did. I’m sorry, Kratos.”

She squeezed him in a tight hug, trying not to touch his chest where it had been burned. It wouldn’t have mattered to him if she did, though. He just wanted to keep her close.

“I love you so much, Anna.”

She leaned up and kissed his cheek. “I love you too. And Noishe loves you, and-” She glanced over at Noishe for a moment and then took one of Kratos’ hands in hers to place against her stomach. “-and _he_ loves you too.”

Kratos stared for a moment, the sensation new and different. There wasn’t a part of Anna’s body that he hadn’t explored by now, but he felt a sudden rush of nervousness like he’d had years before when it was all still new to him.

Even so, all the emotional turmoil couldn’t silence the logical part of his brain.

“Anna… you know that’s your liver, right?” Kratos moved their hands down a little. “The baby would be closer to here.”

“Aw, come on.” She made a show of pouting, but there was an amusement to her words that betrayed her relief at the familiar tone in his voice. “I was just trying to be sentimental. You know I’m no good with that sciencey stuff.”

“And besides that, what’s with this ‘he’ business? You can’t know the baby’s gender-”

“I’m his mother! I can tell!”

“Anna, at this point in development, even the _baby_ doesn’t know what it is yet.”

“Oh? You wanna bet?”

The two continued their playful argument, all too happy to return to their usual light-hearted banter. Noishe stayed beside them, his tail wagging in contentment as he settled down to listen and his eyes never straying from the scene.

Everything wasn’t fixed, but it was at least on the right track.


	3. Warm Glow

“Warm Glow”

Written for Kranna Week 2019

**Words** : 954  
 **Genre** : fluff

_As an angel, Kratos had some idea of heat and cold. But it wasn’t until he removed his Cruxis Crystal that he realized the intensity of the temperature extremes he’d been avoiding for millennia. Despite his years of experience, it was suddenly Anna who had to help guide him._

* * *

Kratos held the cabin door open to make sure the wind didn’t blow it in while he and Anna entered. They shook the snow off their boots and coats, Anna removing her scarf to dislodge the ice that had formed along the edges. 

“Don’t strip down yet,” Kratos warned. “It only feels warmer here because the wind isn’t blowing. You’ll still catch hypothermia if we don’t build a fire.”

Anna watched him approach the hearth, his hands shook as he reached for the logs of firewood that were stacked along one wall. “You mean _we’ll_ catch hypothermia,” she corrected, but he didn’t seem to be listening.

The walls of the cabin had kept them dry in the blizzard, and Kratos was grateful for it- this place was old and run down, no longer a suitable place for humans to live, but given their situation, they had to make it work. He set down his small pack of supplies and opened it up to search for their flint striker. He was unsteady, however, his hands shaking too much to accurately locate the small objects. Anna sat down next to him, reaching for the bag as well.

“Need some help?”

It was hard to see against his already flushed cheeks, but Kratos’ face grew a little redder. “My apologies. I’m having trouble with precise work-“

Anna scooted closer, grabbing his hands and pulling them inside her coat to hold close to her chest. “You’re such a baby when it comes to the cold. How did you survive before you had that fancy angel crystal?”

“I… don’t remember,” Kratos admitted. “Truthfully, I had grown ignorant of such extremes in temperature.”

Anna stifled a laugh. “I guess four-hundred years is too long to remember that sort of thing, huh?”

“It was four thou-“ Kratos began, but stopped himself, not in the mood to correct her again. “And what about you? You grew up in the tropics. How are you so resilient when it comes to this kind of weather? Even Noishe refused to follow us here.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet he’s back near Palmacosta, sunning himself,” she grumbled, still not over the fact that they had to abandon their former hideout. “But when it comes to cold, this is nothing. I’ve got a nice coat, good boots, a scarf…” Her expression dimmed. “The tropics may be warm in the sunlight, but when it gets dark and damp, and you’re all alone… the uniforms and ragged cots at the human ranch didn’t do much to help.”

Kratos went silent, avoiding eye contact. “I’m sorry. I must seem to you like I’m overreacting. While you suffered, I didn’t even have to worry about the cold-“

“Hey!” Anna interrupted. “Of course you’d be sensitive to cold if you haven’t felt it for hundreds of years! Don’t be so hard on yourself.” 

She released his hands, and he returned to his search. Once he recovered the flint and striker, he started building the fire, and Anna watched as he labored over the smoldering kindling. Once the flame had grown large enough to add one of the larger logs, Kratos did so and sat back, holding his hands out over the fire.

“This place is small, so it should warm up quickly. But until then, you should still stay close to the fire.”

Anna nodded, though she stood up to shed her coat and set it back near the door. As Kratos did the same, she moved to the trunk in the back of the room to retrieve the heavy blankets they’d stowed away the last time they were here. By the time Kratos approached the fire again, Anna was there to offer him the other side of the blanket.

“I’m fine. You keep it-“

“Don’t lie to me,” Anna interrupted. “And besides- even if you are fine, I still want you to help me get warm.”

It made sense, and Kratos acquiesced, settling down in front of the fire next to her. Anna had other ideas, however, and tugged him back a little so that she could settle comfortably in his lap. “Anna-“ he began in his scolding, now’s-not-the-time-for-this tone, but she cut him off.

“My grandmother had a saying, you know.”

“Your grandmother had _many_ sayings-“

“A salve in moderation is a poison in excess.’ It means that something nice in small quantities can really hurt if taken to the extreme. But I think the reverse is true too. If you’ve forgotten what it’s like to be hot or cold, then you’ve also forgotten how nice it is to be warm or cool. Dipping your feet into a cool lake on a hot summer’s day or snuggling up with someone you love when it’s cold outside… you’ve been missing out, and I won’t stand for that.”

She had a point. He could feel the warmth of her skin even through her thick sweater, and the joy that came with having her close helped raise his spirits. Kratos allowed himself a small smile and wrapped his arms around her waist. 

“…perhaps you’re right. For all the struggles inherent in being human, I should enjoy the things that make it special.”

Anna leaned back, resting her head against his chest. “I propose a new saying- ‘he who feels not the sting of winter neither feels the warmth of spring.”

Kratos stifled a laugh. “So even you can speak eloquently once in a while, hm?”

“What do you mean, _even_ me? Is that an insult-?” she began, pulling away and turning around to face him. But Kratos reached out and pulled her close again, quieting her protests. “-Kratos?”

“Don’t go,” he whispered. “You’re warm.”

Anna’s frustration melted away, and she giggled as she pressed closer.


	4. If Only

“If Only”

Written for Kranna Week 2019

Words: 1,092  
Genre: hurt/comfort

_On her grandmother’s birthday, Anna insists on visiting her family’s grave. Despite the dangers, Kratos can’t say no. It’s only fair that Anna be allowed to mourn her lost family- and her lost childhood._

* * *

For three years, Anna and Kratos had avoided Luin completely. 

Besides its proximity to the ranch, it was Anna’s hometown, and there was always the possibility that someone would remember her. She had been young when she was kidnapped by the Desians, but old enough that her adult features might still be recognizable. Kratos knew it pained her to know she might never be able to see her old home again, but she was resigned to it. 

Mostly resigned, at least.

But after a few years of traveling, Anna finally succumbed to her homesickness. She’d glanced over the calendar that Kratos had put together, pointing out her grandmother’s birthday. Anna had been raised by her grandmother in Luin, and while Kratos never met the woman, Anna talked about her incessantly and the constant stories made him feel as though he knew her. True, the number of random proverbs that Anna attributed to her grandmother made Kratos wonder if the woman ever had _real_ conversations, but he could tell how much Anna had loved her grandmother, and he hated to deny her the chance to fully address the grief she hadn’t been able to come to terms with at the ranch.

The cemetery was near the outskirts of Luin and was generally deserted in the late evenings, so the two decided it would be safe enough to visit so long as they kept a low profile. Anna had cooked a loaf of banana bread using her grandmother’s favorite recipe and wrapped it in a piece of parchment to leave as a grave offering. It was humid and overcast, the wind rustling through palm branches with the scent of rain not far off. Anna held the bread firmly in one hand and tugged at her cloak with the other, trying to keep her hood from falling off, and Kratos followed behind her, letting her lead him to the family plot where she and her grandmother had regularly visited her parents’ graves all those years ago. She finally found one, a group of headstones with the surname Irving, and stopped in front of one with the first name ‘Eileen.’

She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw it. Anna hadn’t actually been present when her grandmother was buried, but she insisted that those left in Luin after the Desian raid would give her a proper burial. Swallowing back a rush of emotion, Anna placed the bread down at the front of the headstone and stood silently in front of it for a few moments before she finally cleared her throat and spoke up.

“Granny, I… I’m sorry I haven’t visited. I know this is more for my sake than yours, but I… I wanted to see this place again at least once. I wanted to know that your friends gave you a proper burial, that you and Mum and Dad could finally be together. I’m sorry I haven’t visited before. It’s not for a lack of wanting. But I know you‘d understand. So I ask your forgiveness now… for this and everything…”

She stared at the headstone, her eyes cloudy with tears. Kratos noticed her hands shaking, but he was still surprised when she fell to her knees, clutching her head.

“Why? Why did they have to kill you?” she sobbed. “I’d do it all over again if only they’d have just let you live! But… but… ten years of my life wasted… my childhood, gone… and it meant _nothing_! Why? Why couldn’t they have killed me too?!”

Kratos swallowed back the urge to quiet her. His instincts told him they shouldn’t make too much noise, but he couldn’t bring himself to stop her. His heart ached as he listened to her genuine plea, and he had to fight a separate urge to grab her and hold her close. He knew that she had spent nearly half of her life suffering at the hands of the Desians, and he shouldn’t begrudge her the wish to have avoided it all. But the thought of never having met her- the thought of where he’d still be if he hadn’t- bothered him in a way he couldn’t place.

Anna picked up the bread and held it close, cradling it as though it were an actual gift from her grandmother that she wasn’t ready to let go of yet. She began to cry, loudly and openly, and Kratos decided it was finally time to step in before they drew attention from the few people passing by on the nearby road. He knelt down beside Anna and put a hand on her back.

Feeling his touch, she sat up and looked over to him with a forced smile.

“I’m sorry, I got carried away-“

“It’s alright. Take the time you need to. Just be aware of your surroundings.”

Anna sniffles and put the bread back down, wiping tears away from her eyes. “I… apologize for what I said. You must think it’s terrible, to wish I’d died years ago, but…”

“No. I don’t think it’s terrible. You suffered horribly at the hands of the Desians. I also wish I could have avoided the painful times in my own life. I wonder if it would have made a difference if it was me who perished all those millennia ago instead of Martel-”

He was cut off as Anna threw her arms around him. “But if it weren’t for you, I’d still be stuck in that horrible place! It was because of you that I remembered how to be happy!”

Kratos sunk into the embrace, pulling her tighter. “And if it weren’t for you,” he murmured, “I’d still be stuck with Cruxis. It was because of you that I remembered how to be human.”

The two stayed like that for a few minutes as the sounds of crickets and treefrogs greeted the twilight falling around them. When they finally did break apart, they took another moment of respectful silence at the grave, and then hurried back out of town to meet with Noishe, who had been standing guard. It was too risky to stay in the area, so they had a long distance to travel that night, and Kratos insisted that Anna rest on Noishe’s back if she got tired. But she refused, insisting that she walk by his side and hold his hand the entire way. He didn’t protest- the experience at the cemetery had really bothered her, and while he wouldn’t admit it, it had bothered him too.

They both just wanted to be certain the other was alive.


	5. Anniversary

“Anniversary”

Written for Kranna Week 2019

Words: 1,428  
Genre: fluff

_The passage of time was something Kratos no longer paid much attention to. Decades, even centuries, blurred together so tightly in his memory, he’d forgotten how much could happen in a single year._

* * *

It had been autumn when Anna escaped from the human ranch. 

Well, not autumn in the traditional sense- the area surrounding Luin had only two real seasons, rainy and dry. The heart of the rainy season corresponded with autumn in other parts of Sylvarant where they were now hiding, having swapped the brightly colored jungle for the subdued conifer forests just outside of Izoold. It was the longest they’d stayed anywhere since Anna’s escape, Kratos having located an old, broken-down hunting cabin and fixed it up as best he could. It kept the cold wind and rain off of them, and even the recent snow that had begun blanketing the land in the mornings. Kratos could tell that Anna had grown comfortable, which was a dangerous thing. He was starting to realize just how long-term their situation was going to be, and while he didn’t fancy a life on the run, the alternative was unthinkable.

In less than a year, he’d fallen in love with Anna.

They hadn’t started out on the best terms, and she’d even tried to ditch him a few times in the first month. Once, he was even tempted to let her go. But he felt an odd sort of protectiveness over the human and had insisted on keeping her safe even if it meant dragging her kicking and screaming back to safety. If someone had told him back then that he’d be madly in love with her in a year’s time, he’d have called them delusional. 

On the outside, she seemed completely wrong for him. Taken into the ranch at the age of twelve, she had little formal schooling and no book smarts. She treasured the few books he’d managed to collect for them, but hated reading and really only enjoyed them for the pictures. Her reasoning was so impressively flawed at times that Kratos had initially wondered if she was putting on a ditzy act just to mess with him. But as he spent time with her, he found there was more to it than that.

Anna Irving was delightfully dim-witted, but only on the surface. Beneath that exterior, she had a sharp eye for what other people were thinking- she could practically read Kratos’ mind no matter how stoic he tried to keep his expression, and her ability to evaluate her enemies’ intentions was a great strength in battle. She had a near-perfect memory, and Kratos feared arguing with her only because she could bring up something small he’d said a month ago and use it to her advantage. Stubborn to a fault, optimistic even in the bleakest of situations, a genius when it suited her and an idiot when it didn’t… Anna was like no one Kratos had ever met. He’d gone four thousand years without her, and yet after only one year with her in his life, he couldn’t imagine ever going back.

Those first few months had been the most difficult. Once Kratos managed to convince Anna that he was on her side, the two had hidden out in the mountains near Hima for a while, then a small valley near Asgard, and then in the jungle near Balacruf. Moving around was difficult for Anna, who was still weak from her poor treatment at the ranch, so Kratos decided they needed to find some way off the continent. Stowing away on a boat from Palmacosta wasn’t easy, but they made it safely to Izoold… just in time for the harsh winter.

This was before Kratos had found the cabin, so it wasn’t safe to brave the snow with their limited supplies. They’d found shelter along the Ossa Trail, unwilling to venture into the desert because of the same problem, and had waited out the snow until the first signs of spring appeared. Once they were finally able to venture north again, Kratos happened upon the remains of the old hunting cabin and spent a couple months fixing it up enough to make it comfortable. 

All the while, Anna had kept a smile on her face, diligently doing what she could to help. She still didn’t seem to comprehend the danger of their situation, but it was possible she was just trying to enjoy her newfound freedom as much as possible. Kratos had stopped trying to discourage her ignorant optimism and instead just enjoyed her smile- a smile that, day after day, had broken down his detached facade and made a home for itself in his heart.

He’d come in one morning from scouting the area and collecting firewood to find one of their cups set on the table, stuffed full of pine boughs and bright orange leaves. Curious, he circled it for a few moments as Anna watched. She had been waiting for him to return and seemed to be gauging his expression, so he had no choice but to humor her.

“What’s this?” Kratos asked, running his finger over the boughs. Anna offered a smile.

“All the wildflowers are gone, so I couldn’t make a flower arrangement. This is the next best thing, I guess.”

“What do you need flowers for?”

Anna reached out for his hand that was still hovering over the arrangement, taking it and squeezing it in hers. “Because, as of today, it’s officially been a year since I left the ranch.”

Kratos froze momentarily. “How did you-?”

“I looked at your calendar and traced it back. Am I wrong?”

“I don’t…” Kratos began, glancing over at the hand-drawn calendar he had placed on the wall. “…I don’t think so. You’re close enough, anyway.”

“Then it’s an anniversary!” Anna exclaimed. “We should celebrate!”

Kratos forced a smile. Celebrating wasn’t easy when they had next to no belongings, but he supposed he could manage something. “How should we celebrate, then?”

“I was thinking a party!”

“Uh-huh. And who would we invite?”

“Noishe, of course!”

She said ‘of course’ like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Noishe had been by their side from the start and had taken an intense liking to Anna immediately. She’d returned the favor, acting friendly with him long before she did so with Kratos. But he hadn’t been around lately. Kratos joked that he might be going into hibernation, but he knew Noishe was probably out messing with the Desians, sending them running after false leads. If Noishe hung around one place for too long, people would get suspicious. 

“I’m not sure where he is, to be honest,” Kratos admitted, “but maybe we could postpone the party until he gets back.”

“Then-“ Anna’s grip on his hand tightened. “-we’ll just have to celebrate by ourselves for now.”

“So we celebrate now… _and_ when Noishe gets back? That’s two celebrations. Can we really afford to be so extravagant?”

Anna let go and took a step back, crossing her arms with that smile Kratos knew meant she was about to quote one of her grandmother’s proverbs.

“Granny always said ‘ _play hard and play often_.’ Life’s too short to worry all the time. Why shouldn’t we extend the celebration?”

The cabin went quiet. 

“…life’s too short, huh?” Kratos murmured, and Anna took a step back. 

“Well, I mean…”

“No, it’s okay. A long life has no meaning if one does not enjoy it,” Kratos replied. “Up until a year ago, I had forgotten that fact. Despite the difficulties, I’ve gotten more enjoyment out of the past year than I had from the thousands that preceded it.”

Anna perked up. “Me too!” she exclaimed, running to hug him. The force of her embrace knocked the wind out of him- like it always did- and he didn’t have a chance to correct her statement. He had grown accustomed to these hugs, though he hadn’t allowed himself to return the gesture until now. He ought to change that.

“Thank you, Anna,” Kratos replied, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer, “for celebrating. I wouldn’t have given today’s date a second thought if it weren’t for you, and that’s no way to live. You’ve taught me so much, and I… am grateful.”

Anna examined his expression and leaned in. “I love you too,” she whispered.

There she was, reading his mind again. Responding to statements he hadn’t even made. He knew he should say it out loud, but before he could, she pulled him down and planted a kiss on his lips. 

After a moment of surprise, he leaned in, pulling her tight. When they separated, she looked up at him and her eyes sparkled with joy.

“Happy anniversary, Kratos.”

“Happy anniversary, Anna.”


End file.
